FAIRFIELD — The Town Council on Wednesday night discussed potential changes to the tax increment financing district stretching from Eskelund Drive to U.S. Route 201, which would double the size of the district by adding land from two schools.
The council voted to schedule a public hearing and vote on the amendments for the Teague/U.S. Route 201 TIF district at their Sept. 27 meeting.
Town Manager Michelle Flewelling said the district was formed in 2004 and includes almost every lot on Eskelund Drive and lots on U.S. 201. Three lots on Eskelund Drive are owned by Kennebec Valley Community College, which are completely encircled by the TIF district lots. Flewelling said the town is seeking to add parcels of land now owned by Good Will-Hinckley at the school’s northern campus, which the school originally had considered for future development. Since all those parcels were owned by schools, the land was tax-exempt.
A TIF district allows municipalities to capture revenue for various municipal development projects from the tax value of improvements. The existing district encompasses 24 lots that take up just over 315 acres in the town. By adding the lots from the schools, as well as a few additional town-owned land parcels, Flewelling said that would bring the total to 31 lots, amounting to just over 671 acres.
“The two biggest additions are the north campus portion of Good Will-Hinckely properties as well as approximately 150 acres of town-owned property,” Flewelling said. “The rest are all small.”
Flewelling said while the land proposed to be added to the district is tax-exempt, if added to the district it could be developed commercially in the future and the town could provide incentives to a developer.
The district was started with the expectation it would grow 5 percent each year, though Flewelling said that didn’t happen. The district, which is largely set up to finance sewer infrastructure replacement, is set to expire in June 2035.
Councilors also indicated they would like to see 75 percent of the money be captured in the TIF, whereas previously it was capturing 100 percent. The remaining 25 percent would go into a general fund.
Colin Ellis — 861-9253
cellis@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @colinoellis
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